8'x12' steel flatbed for F550 built from scratch......

[AKweldshop]

Here's a bed I built about a year and a 1/2 ago.

Farmer friend bought a 2006 F550 crew cab 7' cab to axle 4wd 6 leaker at an auction for $5000, and needed a cheap bed.... The works, gooseneck, rear hitch, stake pockets, headache rack, trailer plug.


So, you bring all the stuff by, I'll built it for you.

High-school kids like me work cheap...

All I used for the project was stick and tig. Didn't have a mig at the time.

Took a while to build, mostly because I painted and wired all the lights up myself.

Didn't make much money, but got a truckload of experience. Experience that money can't buy...


Enjoy the pics.

~John

That's it in a nutshell

Even tho I haven't seen the truck for a year and a 1/2", the owner assured me the bed was doing fine..... Because the truck has been broken pretty much the whole time :thumbdown::yuck:

He says it runs till it warms up then dies.
Hotstart Hpop leak or something....

Anyway, hopefully he gets it fixed and does some pulling, I'm sure you'd love to see it pulling some big hay or equipment trailers.

Farm on gentleman.

~John

 

[s219]

Cool. I built a bed for a brand new F350 chassis cab back in the mid 80s with my dad and his shop foreman, and it was a fun project. Wish I had taken pics. We used much taller cross beams (maybe 6-8" high) but fewer of them than you, and a wood deck. Years later a welding shop bought the truck and converted it into their mobile welding rig, and the owner kept telling us how impressed he was with the bed. I saw that truck around town for 10-12 years until I moved out of state.

 

[roadhunter]

Very nice.

 

[cat fever]

Wow, you do really nice work.

 

[4570Man]

Nice build. That looks like a great bed on a sweet truck. How much was the material cost?

 

[Barnbuilder]

Looks aweful! You need to give that to me and build him another. JK nice work. I had an '06 that did the same thing. Leaking o ring.

 

[AKweldshop]

Cool. I built a bed for a brand new F350 chassis cab back in the mid 80s with my dad and his shop foreman, and it was a fun project. Wish I had taken pics. We used much taller cross beams (maybe 6-8" high) but fewer of them than you, and a wood deck. Years later a welding shop bought the truck and converted it into their mobile welding rig, and the owner kept telling us how impressed he was with the bed. I saw that truck around town for 10-12 years until I moved out of state.

Thanks.
This bed is only like 38" off the ground.
Low is nice.

Very nice.

Thanks roadhunter. Even tho I hate you I'll accept a compliment...:stirthepot::biggrin:

Wow, you do really nice work.

Thanks.

Nice build. That looks like a great bed on a sweet truck. How much was the material cost?

Thanks.
The cost on this bed for everything, was between $2000-$2500. (Not labor)
That's all the steel, the lights, paint and all the little stuff.

Depending how heavy you build it, and what you paint with, beds can be made very affordable.

 

[AKweldshop]

Looks aweful! You need to give that to me and build him another. JK nice work. I had an '06 that did the same thing. Leaking o ring.

The guy has 3 other 6 leakers besides this one.

All not running currently.

Glad I have my 99 7.3 and all my 12vs

 

[sixdogs]

That is a beautiful job and very well documented. Welds look better than great.

How many hours of labor would you say is in that bed?

 

[sw99]

Nice job. Thanks for all the detailed photos.

 

[Green Power]

Once again very nice work!

 

[jenkinsph]

Very nice bed and great welding work.:thumbsup: Wish I could weld that good.
Here are some pics of beds I have built from scratch for my business on F550's and a F350. I built the tan truck when the 99 F 550's with 4x4 were offered. The other two beds were built in 2005 so they all have some age on them and all are 84"cab to axle trucks.

 

[farm boy00]

Thanks alot for posting this. We are getting a 350 or 450 7.3 diesel with a 12 ft box but that is coming off and we were looking at options and building a flatbed was one

 

[ericher69]

Looks good who helped you with this?

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks alot for posting this. We are getting a 350 or 450 7.3 diesel with a 12 ft box but that is coming off and we were looking at options and building a flatbed was one

If you get the 84" cab to axle trucks and intend to pull trailers I recommend you limit the bed length to 11'. That will work the best for most towing applications. On my flatbed the rear corners are clipped to accommodate sharp turns with my tow type enclosed trailer.

If not towing a trailer you can get by with a little more bed length as long as you balance the load front to back;

The tan truck in my pictures has a bed length of 12' 5" and no problems with it. The heavy parts are loaded in the lower front cabinets. The lighter parts and plastic is in the higher cabinets. Definitely the best service truck I have ever had for plumbing work.

 

[jenkinsph]

Looks good who helped you with this?

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

I would think AKweldshop and myself both built these bodies ourselves. AKweldshop is a better welder than myself and I wanted to give credit where it is due. You have to burn a lot of rods to get that good.

 

[AKweldshop]

That is a beautiful job and very well documented. Welds look better than great.

How many hours of labor would you say is in that bed?

Thanks.
It was a 100 or 200 hours..
It was a flat rate job so I didn't pay attention to hours.
I was working by myself pretty much the whole time, s things wennt slow.
Had a helper a couple days, for the 2 man. stuff.

Nice job. Thanks for all the detailed photos.

Your welcome.

 

[AKweldshop]

Once again very nice work!

Thanks man.

Very nice bed and great welding work.:thumbsup: Wish I could weld that good.
Here are some pics of beds I have built from scratch for my business on F550's and a F350. I built the tan truck when the 99 F 550's with 4x4 were offered. The other two beds were built in 2005 so they all have some age on them and all are 84"cab to axle trucks.

Thanks.
Nice looking rigs there.
I love 7.3 superdutys....

Thanks alot for posting this. We are getting a 350 or 450 7.3 diesel with a 12 ft box but that is coming off and we were looking at options and building a flatbed was one

Glad I could give you some ideas.... You better be a good welder to build one of these.
Post up your bed if you decide to build one.

Looks good who helped you with this?



Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

Thanks, but sounds like your trying to discredit me.

If you get the 84" cab to axle trucks and intend to pull trailers I recommend you limit the bed length to 11'. That will work the best for most towing applications. On my flatbed the rear corners are clipped to accommodate sharp turns with my tow type enclosed trailer.

If not towing a trailer you can get by with a little more bed length as long as you balance the load front to back;

The tan truck in my pictures has a bed length of 12' 5" and no problems with it. The heavy parts are loaded in the lower front cabinets. The lighter parts and plastic is in the higher cabinets. Definitely the best service truck I have ever had for plumbing work.

I forgot to mention the gooseneck hitch on this truck.
The ball is right over the axle.
My ball to back and corners of the bed is right at the industry standard.
If I put my tape measure on the center of the ball, and went straight back the end of the bed, it's right at 5 feet.
And I go to the corners, it's 6 feet....
Most gooseneck trailers are 7 feet, so you've got a foot when your at 45 degrees to the trailer, and 5 feet when your straight. Enough to walk between them.

I would think AKweldshop and myself both built these bodies ourselves. AKweldshop is a better welder than myself and I wanted to give credit where it is due. You have to burn a lot of rods to get that good.

Thanks man.

 

[jenkinsph]

Yes the gooseneck can work with a 5' overhang without problems. A bumper pull that is heavy is more of a concern imo. With 4' over hang I can pull a 14k trailer with no issues in the steep mountain grades. No tail wagging the dog.

The only issue I have had is the fuel filler on the F350 flatbed. I could use a little more height to fill faster.

 

[s219]

Yes the gooseneck can work with a 5' overhang without problems. A bumper pull that is heavy is more of a concern imo. With 4' over hang I can pull a 14k trailer with no issues in the steep mountain grades. No tail wagging the dog.

The only issue I have had is the fuel filler on the F350 flatbed. I could use a little more height to fill faster.

We had fueling problems with the one we built too, and carried around a big block to drive that side of the truck up on, no kidding. Solved the problem.